


Choices

by Wardove



Series: Spider Stories [2]
Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Miles Morales Needs a Hug, talking stuff out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 07:39:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18339140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wardove/pseuds/Wardove
Summary: Neither Spider-man nor Officer Davis talk about the actual first time they crossed paths, before the hug in the parking lot, or down by the collider.  Neither of them want to talk about that alleyway, or even think about it, but sometimes things come back to haunt you, and talking's the only thing you can do.AKA I had Jeff and Miles bonding, and now I need Jeff and Spidey bonding.





	Choices

**Author's Note:**

> Bit of a warning for semi-graphic talk of gunshot wound and repeated mentions of blood.

"We got a shooting down on Verdant, over." 

"Copy that, Davis en route." Jeff flicked on his sirens and turned his cruiser down the right road- that was only a couple minutes from his current location. 

"Report said the Spider's there already." Dispatch's voice- sounded like Emma today- came over the radio, and Jeff grimaced and pressed his foot down on the accelerator a little more. None of the police liked admitting it, but the little Spider had a knack for picking up where the old Spider-man had left off- robberies, muggings, car chases, crazed mutant lizard people committing massive property damage. He always seemed slightly more agitated about shootings though, and it was one of those things that most everyone had noticed, but no-one actually mentioned aloud.

(Jeff had a suspicion why. He never mentioned it, no-one dared mention it to him, but somewhere deep in his heart, he had a feeling he knew why.)

.

Pulling up to the alley, Jeff was confronted with a scene from his nightmares. For a heartbeat, all he could see was the little huddled figure in the dollar-store costume, curled over the limp purple-clad figure of Jeff's brother. Then the moment passed, and it was that same figure in his own outfit, not in a broken slump but with hands pressed against the chest of a body that was wheezing out curses. 

"Police!" Jeff called out as he entered the alleyway, quickly noting the other man unconscious and webbed to a nearby wall, the bullets lodged in the opposite wall and the thick lump of web that was probably hiding the gun responsible, and the way Spider-man's head whipped around fast enough to make Jeff dizzy for a split second. It was hard to tell, but Jeff thought he saw the kid's shoulders relax slightly. 

"Fuckin'... cops man." The person on the ground wheezed, his words wet and heavy and exhausted. 

"Don't talk!" Spider-man snapped, quickly returning his gaze to the victim, and Jeff could hear unbridled terror in that voice that was clear of any fake accent in the moment. Quickly, the police officer knelt down beside them, looking over the injured man with a sinking heart. The location of the injury, the liquid in his voice, the amount of blood already on the ground, and soaked across Spider-man's outfit...

"You're gonna be okay." The kid was breathing rapidly, hyperventilating as he let out a high, panicked stream of words and reassurances. "An ambulance is gonna be here, they're gonna- they're gonna deal with this, patch you up, send you home, you're gonna be okay it's not- you'll be fine okay I'm here okay I'm with you I'm here..." 

The man's eyes slipped closed, but Spidey wasn't looking at his face- focused intently on the wound, on the bleeding that was sluggishly coming to a stop. Jeff's mind flashed again to that alleyway months ago, and it was a herculean effort to lift his own hands, placing one one Spidey's shoulder, and the other covering his (small, so small he's _just a kid_ ) hands and hiding the bullet wound. 

"Kid."

Spider-man didn't seem to hear him, still pressing down, still letting out that stream of reassurance, and Jeff straightened up, tugging him sharply away from the body and smoothly trapping him in a bear-hug when he tried to struggle. 

"Son, he's _gone_." Spidey _flinched_ , almost breaking free with the movement, but he didn't struggle beyond that. 

"No..." He whispered- a soft, broken sound that stabbed through Jeff's heart like he'd been the one shot. "I was right... I was _right there_ I..." 

Without really thinking, Jeff brought a hand up to the boy's head, barely noticing and not caring about the red stain that transferred from black to blue cloth. The dam broke, and with a sob Spider-man hugged him back, nearly crushing the breath from Jeff's lungs with his strength as the slim frame was wracked with sobs. Jefferson sat and held him when the other police arrived and started cutting down the culprit, and when the ambulance arrived too late. They sat like that as the sobs gave way to a hoarse, muttered stream of words that Jefferson could barely hear. Worse, they sounded like apologies. 

One of his fellow officers- Maria- tried to approach at one point, eyes on the kid, but Jeff glared her down and shook his head. She scowled, but nodded and backed off. He wasn't sure how much time had passed before Spider-man's voice finally petered off and he sagged in Jeff's arms. He shot a quick glance up at the dim glow of a night sky in the city, and shifted his grip until he had Spider-man's weight fully in his arms, and then he stood up, cradling the little vigilante like he'd used to hold Miles when his son was smaller and had fallen asleep in some odd place again. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or afraid of the fact that the masked kid didn't even make a token effort of struggling as Jeff carefully carried him back to the patrol car. He didn't move or speak as Jeff wrestled him into the passenger seat, moving surprisingly heavy limbs (solid whipcord muscle, tiny but _dense_ from all the webslinging and wall climbing) like a ragdoll. Jeff closed the door, and paused at the back of the car, taking a moment to call in on his radio. 

"Spider-man's in shock, I'm taking him to the hospital in my car." He paused as dispatch confirmed copy, and then... "I think this is the second time someone's been shot and died in front of him."

Dispatch didn't answer the whisper- whether they heard it or not, Jeff didn't particularly care. He turned the volume down on his radio and got into the car, casting a worried glance at the still figure in the seat beside him. He still hadn't moved-

"None of that's yours, right kid?" Jeff asked sharply, heartbeat suddenly picking up as he mentally registered exactly how much blood was blending in with that spray-paint. He wasn't sure if it was the direct question, or something in the tone of his voice, but the kid finally stirred, looking down at his torso and raising his hands slowly to hover above his lap. 

"M'fine." He murmured softly. He was silent besides that, staring at his blood-soaked hands as Jefferson started the car and pulled away from the alley. They were halfway to the hospital (not the closest one, but the kid wasn't badly hurt, and Jeff had a feeling he'd need his wife's steel core and compassion if he was gonna keep this up), when Spidey spoke again, voice barely above a whisper. 

"M'sorry." 

His words were so soft Jeff had to pause for a second to process what he'd said. After he recognized the apology, he shot a glance sideways. Spidey was still staring down at his hands, but they were curled into loose fists, his shoulders slumped and his body curled tight. 

"You didn't pull the trigger kid. You don't need to apologize for being a witness." 

The kid shook his head slowly. 

"Not... I know tonight wasn't my... I tried to save him but it wasn't... wasn't my fault this time..." 

And suddenly Jefferson realized what Spider-man was apologizing for. Another dark alley, another fatal shooting, another victim. Reflexively Jeff's fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and he took a deep breath, easing up on the gas so he didn't accidentally rear-end the car ahead. 

"I doubt you pulled the trigger back then either kid." 

"Fisk did." He whispered, and Jeff felt his heart stutter. Quickly he flashed his light and pulled over to the curb- not trusting himself on the road anymore. He parked, and then turned to fully face his passenger. Spidey had pulled his feet up on the seat, knees pressed against his arms, pressed against his chest. He wasn't looking at Jeff- seemingly staring blankly ahead (his mask was easier to read than Parker's, but still a pain). 

They sat together silently for almost a minute, and Jeff wondered if that was all the kid was going to say, but he also couldn't bring himself to look away, to get back on the road and leave it at that. Finally however, he did speak again. 

"He... he had my neck..." A pause. "I wasn't fast enough, and he c-caught me on the roof." Pause. "I couldn't breathe." Pause. "I was panicking and, and I... I pulled off my mask." A sound, that wasn't quite a hiccup. A deep breath. "He put my mask back on, put me down, and backed up- he wouldn't, he was refusing and... And Fisk was... He _saw_." 

Jeff wanted to say something, but not only did he not have any idea _what_ to say, his throat was too closed up to get anything out anyway, so he settled for resting a hand heavily on Spidey's shoulder. The kid seemed to shrink under the weight, curling even tighter in on himself and falling silent. 

It was another minute of silence between them. This time, it was Jefferson who broke it. 

"Aaron was a grown man, who made his own choices." Spidey flinched and Jeff squeezed his shoulder- he hoped it was reassuring, but he needed to get the words out before he lost them. "He chose to be the Prowler, and then he chose to save you. And Fisk made the choice to pull that trigger. None of those choices were on you. You hear me Spidey? _None_ of it was your fault. Never forget that- people make their own choices every day, and the only ones responsible for those choices are the ones that made them." 

Spidey didn't say anything, but he nodded hesitantly after a moment, and Jeff figured that was good enough. Sighing out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, he finally turned back to the steering wheel, shifting gears and pulling back out into traffic. It wasn't until they were actually stopping in the hospital parking lot that his passenger finally uncurled from his protective little ball and looked around. He didn't say anything about their destination, but instead turned to fully face Jeff. 

"I can't- There's something I have to tell you." The kid said, his voice strong once more, though rushed, like he was getting the words out before he could change his mind. "I can't say it now, but you need to know. So, that's my choice. I'm making it now- I _will_ tell you. Just..." He trailed off suddenly, loosing whatever gusto had driven him. 

"Just when you're ready." Jeff finished for him, and Spidey nodded, tilting his head and offering one of his cheeky salutes and reaching backwards to open the door, back-flipping out and away before Jeff's brain could catch up. 

He leapt out of the car, but by the time he stood up and looked around the parking lot, Spidey was three stories off the ground and disappearing around a brick facade. Jeff sighed and scratched at his temple, indulged in a bit of cursing, and then turned to the hospital's entrance. 

Spidey might not need his wife's help right now, but Jeff needed a hug. And when the weekend came, he was going to hug Miles too, and then he was going to hug both of them at the same time. 

And maybe if he got the chance, he'd give the little Spider-man a good solid hug too.

**Author's Note:**

> Jeff was clearly angry at the dollar-costume Spidey in that alley, and while he probably stopped hating the guy right around the Fisk-smash, they never really *talked* about it, so I feel like that needed to happen. Talking about stuff like that *hurts*, but airing it out is necessary. 
> 
> -
> 
> Kinda rough, but so was Nightmares, and I'm fine with that. 
> 
> This is one of the other snippets that was floating around my head when I wrote Nightmares. I didn't think I was actually gonna write it out and share it, but I've been getting daily emails from ao3 about kudos, and even some comments on Nightmares that I felt a lot more confident about sharing this one too. 
> 
> Hoped you enjoyed reading. <3


End file.
